Baltimore council wants hearings on school violence

City lawmakers said Monday that they were shocked by newly published reports of school violence and plan to hold hearings to address the hundreds of injury claims filed by teachers.

Mary Pat Clarke, chairwoman of the City Council's education committee and a former teacher, said she was taken aback by a Baltimore Sun investigation that included firsthand accounts of teachers who were assaulted in the city's schools. In the last fiscal year, more than 300 workers' compensation claims were related to assaults or run-ins with students, according to data obtained by The Sun. School employees suffer more injuries than those in any city agency except the Police Department, the data show.

"I was rather shocked at the incidents that were described," Clarke said, adding that she plans to hold a hearing focusing on ways to improve teachers' treatment. "I had no idea of the extent of this problem. We'd better get a grip on this and stand up for our teachers, so we can build the basis of a good education for the children who want to learn."